Newspaper Page Text
News 1A
Where to go
trunk- or-treating
this Halloween.
See story
Page 6A
Football:
Preview of Week 10
matchups
Page IB
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS
Weekend Edition-October 21-22,2022 FORSYTHNEWS.COM P?forsythcountynews Q@ForsythNews (@J@ForsythNews $2.00
City considers short-term rental rules
By Kelly Whitmire
kwhitmire@forsythnews.com
The city of Cumming may
soon have new regulations for
short-term rentals.
During a work session on
Tuesday, Oct. 18, City Attorney
Kevin Tallant presented a pro
posed short-term rental ordi
nance to regulate sites like
Airbnb and VRBO, which
allow owners to rent out a room
or their house for short-term
stays.
“The concept is not to shut
that down,” Tallant said. “The
concept is to regulate it in a
way that the city is protected so
that we don’t end up with hous
es that are turning into party
pads every weekend where you
have 25, 30 or 40 people spend
ing a weekend in the house,
disturbing neighbors, messing
up sewage systems and septic
systems, causing noise ordi
nance violations and that sort of
thing.”
Tallant said currently if there
is a disturbance caused by
short-term renters, the only
action that can be taken is
through the city’s noise ordi
nance.
If approved, the proposed
ordinance would require the
owners of short-term rentals to
pay a fee and receive a permit
from the city. Tallant said the
rules would also help track
which owners pay hotel/motel
taxes, which they are legally
required to pay but do not
always do so.
Along with well-known sites
like Airbnb and VRBO, Tallant
said the ordinance would also
be in place for newer concepts,
like Swimply, which he said
allows homeowners to “rent out
your swimming pool for the day
to a bunch of people, and then
they all come have a party at
your house.”
“Frankly, it’s a way that the
city can, and some people
would say should, regulate
when people take their residen
tial properties and essentially
turn it into a side business by
leasing it out on VRBO or
Airbnb and certainly Swimply,
leasing out your pool on week
ends for people to come have
parties,” he said.
Tallant said surrounding areas
had adopted rules for regulating
short-term rentals, including the
city of Alpharetta, Cherokee
County and Forsyth County.
No action was taken at the
work session, and the ordinance
will come back to the council at
a future meeting.
'We are so excited for this school'
Sabrina Kerns Forsyth County News
Forsyth County Schools held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Midway Elementary
School at its construction site on Mullinax Road onTuesday, Oct. 18.
Groundbreaking ceremony marks new
Midway Elementary campus construction
By Sabrina Kerns
skerns@forsythnews.com
Forsyth County Schools held a
groundbreaking ceremony for
the new Midway Elementary
School at its construction site on
Mullinax Road on Tuesday, Oct.
18.
Board of Education members
and Superintendent Dr. Jeff
Bearden attended the ceremony
along with representatives from
Carroll Daniel Construction and
Lindsay Pope Brayfield &
Associates, the construction and
architectural teams working
together on the project with
FCS’ facilities team.
“We are so excited for this
school,” Bearden said, thanking
the board members, facility team
and community for helping to
support the project.
He said the facility for
Midway Elementary needed to
be replaced as the school has
faced overcrowding in the last
several years and Forsyth County
continues to grow. Right now,
the school serves 750 students in
a building with the capacity for
700.
During a BOE meeting last
year, Chief Communications
Officer Jennifer Caracciolo
explained that the current
Midway Elementary could not
be expanded because of its loca
tion on Atlanta Highway.
But this new 136,920-square-
foot facility, located right next to
Denmark High School’s campus
between Mullinax and Fowler
Roads, will be able to serve more
than 1,770 students on its 87.14
acres.
“And this school will serve our
community probably for the next
60-75 years,” Bearden said. “The
current Midway Elementary was
built in 1961, so more than 60
years old and we expect the
same life expectancy out of this
school.”
Bearden explained the school
will also be completely paid for
with the Educational Special
Local Option Sales Tax, or
See Midway 12A
Developers hear
concerns about
North Park plan
By Ashlyn Yule
ayule@forsythnews.com
Developers hosted a pub
lic participation meeting
Thursday, Oct. 13 for a
mixed-use development
project called North Park
that could bring retail
opportunities, a medical
center and over 800 resi
dential units to north
Forsyth.
What it is
Retail Planning
Corporation, of Marietta,
has requested to rezone
approximately 140 acres
from agricultural district to
mixed-use center district
for six residential lots, 172
attached residential units or
townhomes and 650 apart
ments with a projected den
sity of 5.98 units per acre.
The request also includes
commercial buildings total
ing 701,800 square feet,
2,259 parking spaces and
27.8 acres of open space.
No variances have been
requested.
The land in question is
located on Keith Bridge
Road to the west of Ga.
400, and it also encompass
es area along State Barn
Road on either side.
According to an informal
report from the county,
planning and community
development staff have not
yet made a recommenda
tion for the project.
As detailed by the proj
ect’s master development
handbook, North Park will
combine “commercial,
office, light industrial and
residential uses” to create a
Inside
Rezoning requests
set for public hearing
on Oct. 25,6A
project that is “compact and
walkable with street and
trail system connectivity to
promote a genuine work,
live and play environment.”
According to the hand
book, 500,000 square feet
is expected to be used for
light industrial purposes
while the remaining
201,800 square feet will be
commercial uses, such as
retail and restaurants.
Of the 828 residential
units, 100 units will exist
for a five-story senior hous
ing building.
Christopher Light, local
zoning attorney represent
ing the development, said
44 percent of apartments
would be one-bedroom, 44
percent two-bedroom and
the remaining 12 percent
three-bedroom.
Regarding the proposed
medical center on the
mixed-use development’s
property, Northside
Hospital has joined the
team of developers to create
a product to provide patient
care.
What residents
had to say
Traffic
Abdul Amer, traffic engi-
neer with A&R
Engineering, said he is in
the process of completing a
traffic study and will be
See Develop 18A
BOE OKs property tax abatement for sports park
By Sabrina Kerns
skerns@forsythnews.com
The Forsyth County Board of
Education approved a 10-year
tax abatement at their regular
meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 18,
for an upcoming major sports
park in south Forsyth.
Formerly proposed as
Winner’s Circle Park, SoFo
Sports Park will sit on 62 acres
of land off Peachtree Parkway
and Brookwood and Caney
Roads, and will feature dia
mond fields, a 125,000-square-
foot indoor sports center, 21
pickleball courts and a com
mercial area.
But SoFo Sports Group, the
developers behind the project,
asked for help from the county
to get the park up and running
as property values and prices
continue to rise.
At the board’s work session
the previous week, leaders with
SoFo Sports Group and the
Forsyth County Development
Authority encouraged board
members to approve a 10-year
tax abatement for the property
the park will be built on.
The abatement would allow
the property tax rate to freeze
in place with it increasing
slightly over the next 10 years,
“which means SoFo Sports will
continue to pay the current
assessed value of that proper
ty,” Superintendent Dr. Jeff
Bearden said.
“I know for me, I’m not a tax
abatement person and I actually
voted against the last one,”
BOE Chairman Wes McCall
said during last week’s work
session. “However, I think this
is an exciting project .... This is
going to benefit the community,
and it’s going to help SPLOST.
For us, we took a big step last
year and created a capital
improvement plan based solely
on SPLOST, so we pay as we
go. I think we don’t know what
that looks like, but this can only
benefit [everyone], so I do sup
port it.”
The board members voted
unanimously to approve the
10-year tax abatement, and the
Development Authority also
voted to approve it in
September. The Board of
Commissioners will make the
final vote on it later this month.
For more information, visit
the district’s website at www.
forsyth.kl2.ga.us.
68/40
Forecast 12A
Rezoning
requests set for
public hearing
on Oct. 25,6A
Forsyth County News app
available for download
Find the app at
forsythnews.com/apps
for local news at your
fingertips.
□
7
Volume 113, Number 80
© 2022, Forsyth County News
Cumming, Georgia